Apparatus for gauging material



June 19, 1934. c. E. BEDELL APPARATUS FOR GAUGING MATERIAL Filed June 11, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR June 19, 1934. c. E. BEDELL APPARATUS FOR GAUGING MATERIAL Filed June 11, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I d INVENTOE/ QN Nm v :u .FBBDQ J R a g QM Patented June 19, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE APPARATUS FOR GAUGING MATERIAL Application June 11, 1931, Serial No. 543,622

9 Claims.

The present invention relates broadly to the art of metal working, and more particularly to the art of metal rolling and to an improved apparatus whereby the gauge of the material being rolled may be continuously indicated or controlled.

It is customary in the art of metal rolling, to pass the material being rolled from the last stand of rolls to a reel by means of which the rolled material is placed in coil form to facilitate further handling operations. This is particularly true in the cold rolling of metal in so-called continuous mills. In order to determine whether or not the rolling equipment including the mill 4 or mills is efiecting the desired reduction, it is customary to periodically gauge the material by hand by means of suitable calipers. Such a calipe'ring operation not only does not give a continuous indication of the rolling conditions, but it is accompanied by some hazard to the operator.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide an apparatus for gauging which is effective for continuously indicating or determining the rolling conditions without the necessity of any manual intervention of the operator.

In the accompanying drawings there is shown more or less diagrammatically, by way of illustration only, a preferred embodiment of the invention. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating one manner of installing and utilizing the invention;

Figure 2 is a partial top plan view of a gauge constructed in accordance with the present invention; and

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the structure illustrated in Figure 2.

Referring more particularly to Figure 1 of the drawings, there is illustrated a mill 2 including backing up rolls 3 and working rolls 4, the working rolls providing a pass therebetween for the material 5 being rolled. During the rolling operation the material travels in the direction of the arrow 6 and is illustrated as passing to a coiler '7 of any desired construction and effective for coiling the material as delivered by the mill. Carried by the mill housing is a gauge 8 effective for continuously indicating the effectiveness of the rolling conditions. In Figure 1 the material is illustrated as travelling substantially in the path in which it travels at the commencement of the coiling operation. As the size of the coil increases in diameter the material will travel in a path out of parallelism to the initial path and at a gradually increasing angle thereto. In order to effect a proper measurement of the thickness of the material, it is necessary that the material engaging or calipering elements always contact with the materialin the same manner. The present invention provides a gauge possessing desirable characteristics in this respect whereby the accuracy of the readings is not effected by any change in the path of travel of the material.

Referring more particularly to Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings, the gauge is shown as comprising a base 9 which is adapted to be secured to the housing of the mill 2 in any desired manner. This base 9 carries a. shaft 10 supported at its ends in brackets 11. Mounted below the shaft 10 is a second shaft 12 extending in parallel relationship to the shaft 10 and serving, together with the shaft 10, as a supporting means for the gauge proper. This gauge includes a frame 14 carrying anti-friction rollers 15 adapted to travel along the shaft 10 and formed to slidably receive the shafts 10 and 12, whereby the frame 14 while adjustable transversely with respect to the base 9 is maintained in the general relationship thereto illustrated more particularly in Figure 3. The frame carries guides 16 extending in a generally vertical direction and secured in upper and lower bracket portions 1'7 and 18 respectively. These guides cooperate with an adjustable frame 19, vertically adjustable with respect to the frame 14 by means of an adjusting screw 20. By this construction, the main frame 14 may be adjusted transversely to the base 9, while the frame 19 may be adjusted vertically with respect to the base, thus giving an adjustment in two directions along axes extending normal one to the other.

The auxiliary frame 19 includes spaced side plates 21, as illustrated more particularly in- Figure 2 which carry at their outer ends parallelly disposed verticallyspaced transversely extending shafts 22 and 23 respectively. Cooperating with the shaft 22 is a pair of links 24 located intermediate the side plates 21 and connected at their inner ends to a pivot shaft 25. Similarly carried by the shaft 23 is a lower pair of links 26, likewise disposed intermediate the side plates 21, and carrying at their inner ends a pivot shaft 27.

Pivotally supported by the pivot shafts 25 and 2'7 is a gauge head supporting frame or mounting 28, the frame being thus movable in a generally vertical direction as the links 24 and 26 swing about the shafts 22 and 23. By reference more particularly to Figure 3 of the drawings, it will be noted that the links 24 and the links 26 are disposed in converging relationship, this converging relationship preferably being such that their longitudinal axes as indicated by the chain lines 29 and 30 would, if extended, meet at a point 31 disposed along the center line of the mill 2. The length of the links and their original disposition is such that with the parts in the position illustrated in Figure 3, which is the position at the commencement of a coiling operation, a plane a--b intersecting the axes a and b respectively of the pivots 25 and 27 will be normal to the plane of the material '5.

Carried by the gauge head supporting frame 28 is a trunnion 32 on which is mounted a gauge head 33, the mounting being such that the gauge head may swing about the trunnion 32, suitable bearings 34 being provided for this purpose. Carried by the gauge head is a lower gauge roller 35 adapted to cooperate with an upper gauge roller 36 having a suitable mounting in a swinging arm 37. This swinging arm has a pivotal mounting 38 on the gauge head 33, thus permitting the upper gauge roller 36 to be adjusted toward or away from the lower gauge roller 35. Such an adjustment is obtainable by means of an adjusting screw 39. This adjusting screw may be initially set to the desired thickness which the mill is to produce. When so adjusted, the gauging rollers will be maintained in a correspondingly spaced relationship.

Having been so adjusted, the material 5 leaving the mill 2 may be passed between the rollers 35 and 36 and thence to ,the coiler whereby the rollers are continuously effective on opposite sides of the material as it is being coiled. Each of the gauging rollers is preferably of the construction illustrated more particularly in Figure 2, whereby to provide a limited area ofv contact with the opposite surfaces of the material and thus give a more accurate reading. With the parts in the position illustrated in'Figure 3, the material 5 travels in a plane which is tangent to the periphery of both of the gauging rollers and normal to a plane containing the roller axes, the gauging rollers thus being effective for indicating the true thickness of the material. In order to continuously effect a true indication, this relationship of the parts must be maintained, it being obvious that if the material assumes an angular relationship to a plane containing the axes of the gauging rollers, the rollers will be separated a distance not only equal to the thickness of the material itself,

but a further distance determined by the amount of such angularity.

As the rolling operation continues, the material 5 gradually assumes a position as indicated by the chain line 5' in Figure 3. Since the entire gauge head is carried by links 24 and 26 which are freely movable, the gauge head is free to follow the material during its constantly changing path of travel. During the movement of the material to the path 5', the axis a of the pivot 25 will travel in the are 40 to the point a, while the axis b will travel in the are 41 to the point D. At this time the plane a'--b' containing the axes a and b will assume the angular relationship illustrated in Figure 3, which relationship is, however, normal to the path of travel 5' of the material at that instant.

In like manner the plane containing the axes of the gauging rollers will assume a similar position, thus maintaining such plane normal to the material between the gauging rollers. For each position of the material, the same relationship will be maintained, thus always keeping the gauging rollers in such a relationship to the material as to give a true indication of the actual material thickness. This relationship is maintained by initially disposing the links 24 and 26 at such an angle one to the other that they travel in correspondingly different portions of arcs having radii of the same length but differing from one another to such an extent that the axis of the trunnion 32 assumes a constantly changing angular relationship to the vertical while remaining at all times normal to the plane of material travel.

In order to counterbalance the movable parts of the gauge, the shaft 23 may carry a suitable coil spring 42, one end of which is secured to the shaft in known manner, and the other end 43 of which is secured to one of the links 26. The tension of the spring is adjustable at the will of the operator by an adjusting lever 44 adapted to assume any one of a number of different positions. The spring is preferably always maintained under such a tension that the gauge head is substantially accurately balanced, or slightly over-balanced to such an extent as to always maintain the gauging roller 35 against the underside of the material, thus permitting the roller 36 to rest on the material by gravity, firm contact being insured by the use of a spring 36' capable of exerting the desired pressure. In this manner, the material does not tend to lift the gauging roller 36 away from the gauging roller 35.

The gauge head, which is herein more or less diagrammatically illustrated may be of any desired construction either effective for continuously indicating the actual gauge of the material, or measuring the same. The thickness indicating means adapted to be used with the head herein illustrated is of the type manufactured and sold by the General Electric Company, and well known in the art. These means indicate the distance between the lower end of the screw 39 and the anvil on which it rests in zero posi tion. These means are fully shown and described in the application of Terry Serial No. 610,654, filed May 9, 1932.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that the adjustment 20 is for the purpose of initially setting the gauge head so that the proper gauging relationship of the parts is obtained for the commencement of a coiling operation. Thereafter, by reason of the structure described, this relationship is continuously maintained.

The advantages of the present invention arise from the provision of an apparatus effective for continuously enabling an operator to ascertain the thickness of the material being rolled. More specifically, the advantages of the structure arise from the provision of means. for constantly maintaining gauging members in such a position that the axes of the gauging members as defined by the planes between the points of contact between the same with the material and their mountings will always be normal to the path of travel of the 14 material.

While I have herein illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that changes in the construction and relationship of the parts may be made with- 145 out departing either from the spirit of the invention or the scope of my broader claims.

I claim:

1. In a gauge, a pair of gauging elements having work-engaging portions and holding portions adapted to extend in predetermined angular relationship to each other in a vertical plane with the elements in successive vertical gauging positions, and a mounting for said elements and means whereby said mounting is adapted to progressively vary the inclination of said holding portions to the horizontal plane as the elements rise and fall during gauging operations whereby a line joining the points of contact of the workengaging portions with the material being gauged may be maintained normal to the plane of the material being gauged in all gauging positions.

2. In a gauge, a pair of gauging elements having work engaging portions and holding portions adapted to extend in predetermined angular relationship to each other in a vertical plane with the elements in successive vertical gauging positions and movable verticallywith the material being gauged, and a mounting for said elements and means whereby said mounting is adapted to progressively vary the inclination of said holding portions to the horizontal plane as the elements rise or fall whereby a line joining the points of contact of the work-engaging portions with the material being gauged may be maintained normal to the plane of the material being gauged in all'gauging positions.

3. In a gauge, a base, a frame thereon movable transversely of said base, an auxiliary frame on said main frame, a gauge head, means mounting the gauging head on said auxiliary frame for free movement during gauging operations to successively different elevated positions radially to a common centre, and gauging means swingingly carried by said gauging head.

4. In a gauge, an adjustable frame, a pair of links pivotally carried by said frame, a gauge head supporting frame pivotally secured to said links,

and gauging elements supported by said gauge head supporting frame, said links having longitudinal axes in converging relationship.

5. In a gauge, a gauging frame,'links having a pivotal mounting in saidframe, a gauge head, means rotatably supporting said 'head on' said links, and gauging elements carried by said head.

6. In a gauge, a gauging frame, links having a pivotal mounting in said frame, a gauge head, means rotatably supporting said head on said links, and gauging elements carried by said head, said links being mounted in converging relationship with respect to their longitudinal axes.

7. In a gauge, a gauging frame, links having a pivotal mounting in said frame; a gauge head, means rotatably supporting said head on said links, gauging elements carried by said head, and means for normally urging said links in one direction to an extent sufficient tonorrnally counteract the gravitational tendency thereof.

8. In a gauge, a pair of gauging disks so disposed that the plane of the axes of the disks extends in a generally vertical direction with the disks in a predetermined relationship to each other, a mounting for said disks, and linkage supporting said mounting adapted to progressively vary the inclination of said plane to the horizontal plane as the disks rise and fall during gauging operations whereby said first mentioned plane may be maintained normal'to the plane of the material being gauged.

9. A mounting for gauging elements, comprising a plurality of links arranged in pairs, pivotal mountings for one end portion of the linksof each pair, the links of each pair being disposed in converging relationship from said mountings,-a gauge head supporting frame pivotally secured to the opposite end of the links, and a gauge head swingingly carried by said gauge head supporting frame. i

CARL E. BEDELL.- 

